Beyond Body Beautiful

Beautiful and brawny.

Is that all there is to Derek Ramsay — a 5’ll”/175-pound hunk — who replaces Dingdong Dantes this year as the No. 1 among the country’s top bachelors chosen by Cosmo Philippines (which ranked him, well, just one of them last year)?

The guy has something between his ears (as he has between other parts of his body).

Like what?

Find out by and by.

During this Conversation, Derek, who’s turning 29, was on his way to Tagaytay to check the dream house he’s remodeling a stone’s throw from where his parents live. Does it mean that he and girlfriend Angelica Panganiban are settling down soon — in that house? Derek simply shrugs the question off.

The three-storey house is located in a village which Derek described as “San Francisco-based-themed,” with a king-size bathroom (the wall separating the bedroom and the bathroom had to be torn down to make space for it) where Derek loves to laze about. “I like to be relaxed; I love to take long showers,” he says. “I’m a pretty big guy and I can’t be comfortable in a small bathroom. I turned the attic into the master bedroom and the original master bedroom into a bathroom/walk-in closet.”

Wow, great! Is the bathroom huge enough to accommodate him and Angelica?

“Yes. Hahahaha!”

What else does he do in the bathroom?

“I’m installing a TV set in it and a couch. I take my time in the bathroom, but it takes me maybe just 10 to 15 minutes to fix myself. My ritual? In the shower, I soap my hair first and then my body. I brush my teeth and then wash my face. Dressing up, I put on my underwear first, and then the pants, my socks, my shoes and then, always the last, my shirt.”

Asked if it’s hard to maintain a “body beautiful” like his, Derek said, “I’m not a gym-type of guy but I’m always active. I like to be outdoors and to engage in a lot of sports. That’s how I keep in shape.”

And what do you eat?

“I love Filipino food. I eat a lot of rice. Para akong kargador kumain ng kanin. Hahahaha! I take as many as five to six small meals every day. I burn the carbo when I do my sports. Ever since I was in high school, I do push-ups as soon as I wake up in the morning to keep my blood going and that keeps me awake the whole day, even if I am puyat and I’ve been on a nightout with friends. I do that as a routine before I take a shower.”

High school was in London?

“I started high school here, at Maria Montessori, and continued it in England. I was born in Enfield, England. I was about seven years old when my parents moved here and decided to stay. I go back and forth between England and the Philippines, and stayed here after I finished college (Marketing) in the States (New Hampshire and then in Boston). My dad, Derek Ramsay Sr., who is British, was an ex-policeman who worked as a detective-inspector for Scotland Yard. Security is the best thing he knew so when he came to the Philippines he started his own electronic-security.”

What about your mom?

“Her name is Remedios Baggao-Ramsay, a Filipina. She’s wonderful, the best mom! Very supportive. She’s very quiet but very loving and very caring.”

Are you an only child?

“I have one brother whose name is also Derek Ramsay and three sisters. I’m 50 percent English; I’ve got some Filipino blood. My mom kasi has Indian blood and Spanish blood.”

Oh, you are multi-”bloodied,” multi-cultural. How were you brought up?

“You know, I believe I’m a citizen of the world. My parents believe that traveling is the best way for a child to learn. At a very young age, they let me travel to many parts of the world. I guess I’m liberated in some ways but I haven’t forgotten my Filipino side that’s why I learned to speak Tagalog.”

Ang galing mo na nga mag-Tagalog, eh!

“Maraming salamat.”

At ang galing-galing mo nang umarte, ha! How did you do it? Did you have any acting experience in school?

“Actually, acting and being in front of the camera was one of my biggest fears. But I have this thing about overcoming my fears. Like when I had a fear of heights, I conquered it by sky-diving. I began to overcome my fear of acting and being in front of an audience by joining a play when I was in boarding school in England. I played the lead role, as a postmaster, and my parents flew to England all the way from the Philippines just to watch the play. And when I’d come to visit my relatives, I would do commercials here and there.”

Oh yes, you were in the San Miguel commercial with Kris Aquino before you landed on TV. (And then he starred in ABS-CBN shows like Panday, Ysabella, Maging Sino Ka Man and, soon, a new soap titled Humiling Ako sa Langit with Judy Ann Santos. He was also in two Star Cinema movies, Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo also with Judy Ann and Ryan Agoncillo, and One More Chance with John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo; one for OctoArts, Matakot Ka sa Karma; and, also soon, a yet untitled horror movie topbilled by Maricel Soriano.)

“I came home for good in 2000. I was still shy but I got a stint on MTV. Other things followed and, well, here I am.”

Any more fears to conquer?

“What I’m gonna try to overcome next, which is part of my bucket list, is my fear of sharks. I want to swim with a great white shark. When I dive, I get scared when I don’t see the bottom, so I want to go to South Africa in 2010 to watch the World Cup Soccer and to swim with a great white shark. Hahahaha!”

But I’m sure you don’t have a fear of women, do you?

“Huh? Actually, I’m a torpe guy. Yes, no kidding! I wait for the girl to make the first move. I grew up with four girls in the family...my mom and my three sisters...and they are pretty scary women. Yeah, I do have a slight fear of women.”

What kind of women are you afraid of?

“Over-aggressive women tend to push me back. Prima donnas who try to play conservative. I like a woman who doesn’t play games, you know.”

What kind of games, one-night-stands?

“You know, mind games. She likes you but pretends that she doesn’t. I don’t want to waste time. Okay, let’s get to know each other and if we like each other, then we move on to the next level.”

What’s your stand on one-night-stands?

“I’m not a guy who goes to a bar with a mission to pick up girls. It’s such a hassle to wake up in the morning with a stranger sleeping beside you. I guess it happens, part of growing up, but I try to avoid it.”

How do you deal with over-aggressive women?

“Hmmmm. I just smile, sakyan mo lang and then back away. Slowly disappear.”

Have you received any indecent proposal?

“Well, I have my share. I’ve met women who promised to give me the best night of my life but I just laughed about that. Then, they would ask what car I like and make other juicy offers. I find that very rude. In Cancun, Mexico, a woman gave me a pack of condoms and said, ‘Let’s go!’ I would be lying if I said I didn’t have some alcohol in my body.”

So what did you do with the condoms?

“I opened the box and blew the condoms into balloons and gave them back to her.”

What do you and Angelica have in common?

“We both love food, except that she doesn’t eat rice. She hasn’t eaten rice in eight years! She’s very down-to-earth and she can go along with all kinds of people, whether they are rich or poor. She’s also sporty like me. She didn’t know that until she met me. Now, she plays golf. She has that angel look and she is flawless pero naku, she’s not afraid of the sun.”

You know, Derek, many people tend to look at other people, men and women, who have nice bodies as nothing more than pieces of meat. How do you feel about that?

“I can’t control what people think. But I wish they would talk to me and discover that I’m much more than that. Do I get offended? No, I don’t, because I know I’m not just a piece of meat.”

Back to some more “body talk...” What part of your body is most vulnerable?

“My stomach. I’m highly-acidic I get gas pains all the time. Ironically, I love spicy food. I have a very sensitive stomach and I’ve been hospitalized many times because of it. I have a high tolerance for pain but not when it comes to my stomach.”

Any part of your body that needs improvement?

“Myright knee which is giving me pain all the time. And my right leg which is an inch shorter than the left.”

And what part is your favorite?

“My back.”

Back to Angelica...Do you have plans of getting married?

“We haven’t really discussed it. We’ve known each other for two years. But relationship, if you won’t to call it that, just over a year.”

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